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Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN) was in 21 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. UN investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers lately. There were 17 hedge funds in our database with UN positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In today’s marketplace, there are tons of methods market participants can use to watch publicly traded companies. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can beat their index-focused peers by a healthy margin (see just how much).

Equally as integral, positive insider trading sentiment is a second way to parse down the stock market universe. Just as you’d expect, there are lots of incentives for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very clear reason why they would buy. Various empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

With these “truths” under our belt, we’re going to take a look at the recent action encompassing Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN).

Hedge fund activity in Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN)

Heading into Q2, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 24% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a select group of notable hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes meaningfully.

According to our comprehensive database, Gardner Russo & Gardner, managed by Tom Russo, holds the largest position in Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN). Gardner Russo & Gardner has a $366 million position in the stock, comprising 4.3% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by John Osterweis of Osterweis Capital Management, with a $87 million position; 3.3% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, Richard Chilton’s Chilton Investment Company and Ricky Sandler’s Eminence Capital.

As aggregate interest increased, key money managers have jumped into Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN) headfirst. D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, established the largest position in Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN). D E Shaw had 3.6 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also initiated a $1.6 million position during the quarter. The other funds with new positions in the stock are David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments and Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick’s First Pacific Advisors LLC.

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN)?

Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is at its handiest when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past six months. Over the last six-month time frame, Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Unilever N.V. (ADR) (NYSE:UN). These stocks are Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB), ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG), Mead Johnson Nutrition CO (NYSE:MJN), Kellogg Company (NYSE:K), and General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS). This group of stocks are in the processed & packaged goods industry and their market caps are similar to UN’s market cap.